overplaying top pair

[GreenLizard 0]

Not sure if I played this right...2/5 NLHE at the Bellagio - I'm in late position, with about $125 in chips. I limp in with QT clubs after two or three other people also limp. The button raises to $15, the sb calls and I call (three people in pot). The flop comes T62 rainbow.I think about it for a second and figure, I've got top pair and a chip stack about the size of the pot. To protect my hand, I bet all-in.The original raiser folded, the sb (who had me covered) called with JJ.Blank, blank, and I buy more chips.

[Binbs 0]

You shoulda bet half the pot then, to find out where you are.If you are raised, then think of the guys betting patterns/habits. Your read on him will be decisive to wether you think he has AK or overpair.

[Jubba 0]

Here's my take.Q-10s is a decent hand to see a cheap flop with, but after the raise and the smooth call from the SB i would have chucked it. It doesn't play well with only 3 people and even if you hit a pair, your kicker sucks in both scenarios. Just release the hand.Once the flop comes, your all-in is questionable (at best). You have $125 in chips. You limp for $5. There were 3 other limpers, plus the BB so thats another $20. Button makes it $15, SB calls another $15. So now there is $55 in the pot, and its $10 more to you. Based on the pot odds your getting 5.5:1 on your money so your call here is good. After the flop you have top pair with a decent kicker, but its still only top-pair.The pot is at $65. You have put in $15, so you should have about $110 in front of you. [unless my math is off, you said you had $125 when the hand started so you have about twice the size of the pot in chips]So far, your only mistake was coming in with the Q-10.Now here you make your next mistake. All-in is a horrendous move. And you severely over-bet the pot. You're risking $110 to pick up $65? Not a good deal for me. The board is not straighted, and not suited, so there is no real need to protect your hand. Here you need to make a probe bet. About 1/2 the pot to see where you are. Remember the SB just called the pre-flop raise, so you need to be worried about him.Since you just went all in, you get no information from him. Throw out a $30 bet to see what he does. If he calls then its time to check/call check/fold. Your top-pair is beat.Limping in late position with Q-10s is borderline, but once there was a raise [AND a call] I would have probably released it. Dropping the hand would have kept your stack in front of you.

[Ebonwoulfe 0]

Not sure if I played this right...

Any time I see this line, my immediate reaction is to say "Well if you think you played it wrong, you did." You don't need us to tell you that you made a bad play. You damn well know you made a bad play. Moving on...

2/5 NLHE at the Bellagio - I'm in late position, with about $125 in chips. I limp in with QT clubs after two or three other people also limp. The button raises to $15, the sb calls and I call (three people in pot). The flop comes T62 rainbow.

You seem a bit underfunded for this game. Personally at $1-2Of course, making the move you made, having more in front of you causes you to lose more on this move, so you probably wouldn't want more in front of you.

I think about it for a second and figure, I've got top pair and a chip stack about the size of the pot. To protect my hand, I bet all-in.

You only thought for a second? DANGER! DANGER!NL cash games are about trapping anyway.Again, pushing all in here, while in a tourney may be sound strategy, is a seriously losing bet. What were you hoping? All your opponents had was AK? 99? Guess what, they're not calling you. But, think about it this way... they are the ones you want calling. Sure, the AK has a smallish chance to suck out and the 99 is 9-1 against making it, but you have to give them the chance to make the mistake.Who is calling? Someone with a good overpair or a set. The exact ones that you want to fold.

The original raiser folded, the sb (who had me covered) called with JJ.Blank, blank, and I buy more chips.

Everyone has to buy more chips occasionally, don't get down on yourself. But realize what a big learning experience this hand should be for you so that your $125 initial investment was worth it.

[GreenLizard 0]

Here's my take.The pot is at $65. You have put in $15, so you should have about $110 in front of you. [unless my math is off, you said you had $125 when the hand started so you have about twice the size of the pot in chips]

Your math isn't off, it's my memory. At the time I went all-in, I was over-betting the pot by about $10-15, not really that much more. There might have been more than a couple of limpers or more likely the raise was to $20. I played eleven hours that night, and didn't bring a notepad, so my fault on that note.

You seem a bit underfunded for this game. Personally at $1-2 blinds I'm not comfortable w/o $200+. You're just too easily pushed around and playing tourney style, please-double-me-up poker, which in a cash game is losing poker. ... NL cash games are about trapping and getting the money in with the best of it.

At the $2-5 game at the Bellagio, you can only buy in for $200, no more, no less. Also, I understand the difference between tourneys and cash games and the concept of trapping people with the best hand. I did pretty well there the first night, but understand that I have plenty of holes in my game...which is why I'm posting here.

... What were you hoping? All your opponents had was AK? 99? Guess what, they're not calling you. But, think about it this way... they are the ones you want calling. Sure, the AK has a smallish chance to suck out and the 99 is 9-1 against making it, but you have to give them the chance to make the mistake. Who is calling? Someone with a good overpair or a set. The exact ones that you want to fold.

Good point.Anyway, thanks for your responses, I'll check back in after some more people have responded.

[troutsmart 0]

With your stack at $125 in a 2/5NL, you don't have too many options. You must raise coming in or see a cheap flop and be ready to fold to a raise. You simply don't have a deep enough stack to play the hand post flop without jeopodizing your stack. After you called the preflop raise, you essentially committed yourself to this hand if you hit. You could have bet out half the pot, but when raised, you would still have to call based on pot odds. Thus, going allin was your option, or a checkraise allin. Basically, your stack size in relation to the blinds and calling a raise preflop under such circumstances would be where I would alter the scenario.

[Ebonwoulfe 0]

At the $2-5 game at the Bellagio, you can only buy in for $200, no more, no less.

Hmm... well maybe the structure isn't so bad, but the max buy in is 40x the big blind? Well I guess they have their reasons. I may have overstated that I like $200 at a 1-2 game, but I mainly like it because the implied odds are through the roof.Of course, any game is better than the $50 min/max buy in, 1-1-2 blinds game at the Luxor. Of course, once you got below $50 you could buy another set of $50 (which means after I posted my first blind I bought back in to get to $98), but damn what a terrible structure.Hmm... on that note, do what you can to keep the max stack at all times, so you have the maximum possible implied odds. It would suck to catch 78 suited, flop comes 56A with the 5 and A to your suit, and not have enough to maximize your winnings if your straight or flush hit.

[GreenLizard 0]

At the $2-5 game at the Bellagio, you can only buy in for $200, no more, no less.

Hmm... well maybe the structure isn't so bad, but the max buy in is 40x the big blind?

I'm curious. Where do you play? All the places I go typically allow 40 to 50 times the big blind. The only game I know of that allows more is the big NL game at the Bellagio. (10/20, $600 minimum buy in)

[GreenLizard 0]

With your stack at $125 in a 2/5NL, you don't have too many options.  You must raise coming in or see a cheap flop and be ready to fold to a raise.  You simply don't have a deep enough stack to play the hand post flop without jeopodizing your stack.  After you called the preflop raise, you essentially committed yourself to this hand if you hit.   You could have bet out half the pot, but when raised, you would still have to call based on pot odds.  Thus, going allin was your option, or a checkraise allin.  Basically, your stack size in relation to the blinds and calling a raise preflop under such circumstances would be where I would alter the scenario.

Thanks. This was my thought process. The situation was easily avoidable by not calling the raise with the QT, but I had my reasons for doing it.I was wondering if there was any way I could have avoided going all-in after the flop. Doesn't look like it.

[Suited_Up 2]

That structure is terrible.I played at the Flamingo at the 1/2 NL game, and the buy-in was max $200.